Playing-ball.



UNTED STATEs ATENT @men FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, OFHARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE KEMPSI-IALL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY,

A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PLAYING-BALL.

. SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent N0. 716,349, dated. December 16, 1902.

` Application tiled October 18,1902. Serial No. 127,823. (No model.)

To (ir/ZZ whom 7175 may concern:

Beit known that I, FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hart` ford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and" useful Improvements in Playing-Balls, of,

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to golf and other! playing balls; and its object is to produce atl ro low cost a ball having phenomenalilying power.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a part-sectional view of one form of ball made in accordance with my present improvements.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectionof one form of rubber strip that may be used in winding the filling or body of the ball.

mental section, on an enlarged scale, of the complete ball; and Figs. 4 and 5 are crosszo sections of still other forms of rubber strips which may be used in carrying out my present invention.

Upon acenterlpiece l, which maybe of hard material and is preferably springy, I

z 5 wind sufficient rubber strip 2 to make a thick layer or sphere A, and upon such filling I apply a shell 3, of plastic material, preferably.. of gutta-pereha and preferably holding the filling under compression.

3o The rubber strip 2, Fig. 2, which may be heat-cured, is beveled, chamfered, or thinnedv down at its sides oredges, as at B, and when in winding the ball thestrip is drawn to a` heat-cured rubber may be used of sufficient thickness to enable it to be subjected to a high degree of tension without `liability of parting, and in this way a solid ball may be made of this kindof rubber, although my improvements may, if desired, be carried out 5o with other suitable material.

Flg. 3 is a seg-I I apprehend that when the ball is given a blow the only effect possible is a change of shapeof the ballAfrom that of a true sphere,

which change of shape necessarily stretches longitudinally the individual rubber layers of which the sphere consists. Since the tension of therubber is such that its reaction is instantaneous, the ball iiies from the club with phenomenal speed. Moreover, the great store of energy in the rubber cannot be brought into action except by meansof a heavy blow, so that it is inactive under a light blow, and hence is a good putten The cross-section at Fig. 2 illustrates a parallelogram, this being the preferred section of the beveled rubber strips, since it may be cut in this form direct from rubber sheeting by making a bias or a slanting cut with the knife. In Fig. 4, however, the strip 2b is illustrated at c as being beveled upon itsI upper side alongboth edges, while at Fig. 5 the strip 2c is illustrated at. D as beveled upon both upper and lower sides at each edge. Other forms of strips may be employed, so long as they are thinned at the edge to a sufficient extent to enable the ball to'be wound solidly.V

Other variations may be resorted to within the scope of my present improvements.

Having thus described my invention, I

claiml. In a playing-ball, a sphere consisting of windings of tensioned sheet-rubber which is' thinned along the edge, said windings forming a solid body.

2. In a playing-ball, the combination of a sphere consisting of windings of tensioned sheet-rubber which is thinned along the edge, said windings forming a solid body, and a cover.

3. In a playing-ball, the combination with a center piece of a sphere thereon consisting of windings of tensioned sheet-rubber which. is thinned along the edge, said windingsform-' ing a solid body.

4. In a playing-ball, the combination-`A1 with a center piece of a sphere thereon consisting" of windings of tensionedsheet-rubberwhich is thinned along the edge, said windings forming a solid body, and a cover of plastic material.

IOO

5. In a playing-ba1l, the combination of a sphere consisting of windings of tensioned sheet-rubber which is thinned along the edge, said windings forming a solid body, and a shell of gutta-percha.

6. In a playing-ball, the combination of a sphere consisting of windings of Tensioned sheet-rubber which is thinned along the edge, said windings forming a solid body,and a shell of gutta-percha holding said windings Linder compression.

7. In a playing-ball, the combination with a center piece of a sphere thereon consisting of windings of tensioned sheet-rubber which is thinned along the edge, said windings forming a solid body, and a shell of gntta-percha holding said windings under compression.

8. In a playing-ball, thecombination with a center piece of a sphere thereon consisting of windings of tensioned sheet-rubber which is thinned along the edge, said windings forming a solid body, and a shell of gutta-pcrcha holding said windings under compression.

9. In a playing-ball, the combination of a sphere consisting of windings of highly-tensioned heat cured sheet rubber, which isl thinned along the edge.

l0. In a playing-ball, the combination of a sphere consisting of windings of highly-tensioned heat-cured sheet-rubber which is thinned along the edge, and a cover formed of plastic material and holding said windings under compression.

l1. In a playing-ball, the combination of a sphere consisting of windings of tensioned rubberstrip,whichis thinned along each edge, a cross-section of the strip resembling a parallelogram.

l2. A rubberstrip thinned along its edges and wound upon itself to form asphere.

Signed at Nos. 9 to l5 Murray street, New York, N. Y., this 17th day of October, 1902.

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS. Witnesses:

B. C. STICKNEY, JOHN O. SEIFERT. 

